By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — It was a high-scoring affair when the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers and La Joya Palmview Lobos closed Week 5 with a District 16-5A Division I contest on a cool Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Chargers (3-2, 3-1) used a hot start and a solid defensive effort to outduel the Lobos (2-3, 1-3) in a 55-41 victory.
“We felt like we had a really good game plan, and we wanted to capitalize early. We had a great week of preparation, and I think that showed in the first half,” Chargers coach Kelley Lee said.
Senior running back/linebacker Jorge Alvarado put the Chargers on top 14-0 with rushing touchdowns of 11 and 17 yards on Brownsville Veterans’ first two possessions. Alvarado was productive on defense, too, helping the Chargers keep the Lobos in check.
“(Alvarado) always plays well on defense, but he really ran the ball hard on offense. He got a lot of yards after contact, extra yards, so that’s always good to see, and I was proud of him there. And he blocked really well, too. It’s a very unselfish offense, everybody’s got to block,” Lee said.
With the Brownsville Veterans defensive line shutting down the run Palmview tried to pass, but the Chargers spoiled those plans. Sophomore defensive back Gilbert Trillo and junior DB Kenny Davis each reeled in interceptions during the first quarter.
After Davis’ interception, Chargers junior running back Jay Valdez scored on an 18-yard run to open the second quarter. Junior quarterback Reece Sampayo made it 27-0 with a 19-yard rushing touchdown. The 2-point conversion was no good.
The Lobos scored 14 straight points to trim the deficit. Senior running back A.J. Chapa broke the shutout with a 3-yard rushing touchdown, and then junior linebacker Joel Garza took a scoop-and-score around 40 yards following a fumble.
Just before halftime, big runs from Alvarado and sophomore running back Storm Montoya helped set up another BVM score. Sampayo hit senior receiver Zachary Dennis for a 22-yard gain, then Sampayo scored on a 1-yard rush.
The Chargers struggled with ball control during the second half, putting the ball on the ground five times. Guillen ran back a fumble recovery for Palmview’s second defensive touchdown of the contest, and then on BVM’s ensuing drive, sophomore DB Jose Guerra scooped up another loose ball.
“I think maybe when we got ahead, we were trying to do more than we needed to, tried to make the spectacular play instead of just doing what we did to get the lead. I think that’s why the ball ended up on the ground,” Lee said. “But you got to give Palmview a lot of credit, they never gave up and they played hard. Their offense is pretty tough when they get in a rhythm, and we had some issues in the second half.”
Brownsville Veterans responded with a pick six courtesy of senior linebacker William Wassen, then the Chargers recovered their own onside kick. On the first play after that, Sampayo found sophomore receiver Miguel Selvera for a 34-yard passing touchdown, making it 48-21 Chargers midway through the third quarter.
Again, the Lobos fought back. Chapa broke through tackles for a 17-yard rushing score, and then Guillen forced another fumble that was scooped up by Olvera to give Palmview good field position. Junior receiver Tony Villarreal cashed in the turnover with a 56-yard touchdown.
“They wanted the game, they wanted to win, we just dug ourselves too deep of a hole. But they kept fighting,” Lobos coach Margarito Requenez Jr. said.
Brownsville Veterans came back with a good drive to get into first-and-goal territory. The Chargers fumbled twice inside the 10 yard line but recovered both, including a recovery by Selvera in the end zone for a touchdown.
Despite the ball control struggles, the Chargers continued to impress with their option offense. They blocked well to aid the run game, and had some success in the air. Alvarado, Wassen, Trillo, Davis and senior D-lineman Joseph Perez were solid defensively for BVM.
Guillen and Olvera led a respectable defensive effort from Palmview, and Chapa handled his workhorse role well. Junior quarterback Christian Reyna delivered a nice ball to Villarreal for a 14-yard passing touchdown late in the game, but the Lobos were too far behind to notch a comeback.
“(Chapa is) one tough running back, and we put the load on him. That’s what we expect every night out of him, and I couldn’t be prouder of him,” Requenez Jr. said. “Those early turnovers killed us. It’s hard when you put yourself in a situation like that, but I can’t be mad because my coaches and my players did a hell of a job responding. Any other team would’ve shut down, but my boys kept fighting. That’s all I can ask.”
Both teams have byes in Week 6 before returning to district action Oct. 7. The Chargers will face Brownsville Lopez, and Palmview will battle Brownsville Porter.
“We really got to work on our ball security and our tackling,” Lee said. “A lot of times today we had them at the point of attack, and they bounced off and we let them get extra yards, so that’ll be our point of emphasis (in the bye week), ball security and tackling.”